Naophulax Aion
=Basic Information= These are the pieced together histories of our order...some found within ancient Nemedian tomes, others from the mouths of Pictish shaman. We are still in the process of rediscovering who we are and who we were for it seems we will never be able to be one or the other. All was not lost in the splitting of the world, but much was. With the re-awakening of Acheron, we who have stood against them in aions pasts, we whose blood has not thinned too much, are finding a rebirth of purpose as our forefathers hereditary oaths, old magicks, a kindling, in our veins. Naophulax Aion, commissioned by King Kull of Valusia, greatest of the seven kingdoms, during the Thurian Age. Naophulax Aion was a sect of Valusian society integrated into a military structure so that it would be able to continually move to new fronts as a cohesive unit in the kingdom's war with the Serpent Men and Snake Cult societies. Kull the Conqueror, Kull the Atlantean, took the Valusian crown and instituted a policy of social equality and religious tolerancy (much to the dismay of the Valusian aristocrats and priests). Kull was forced to exclude the Serpent Cults from this policy of tolerance after they attempted to assassinate him and overthrow the government. He banned all religious practices that involved human sacrifice and created Naophulax Aion to enforce this edict. In time, the struggle with the serpent cults escalated to full warfare. The serpent cults used illusion magicks to twist the minds of men. In response, the Mages and Priests of the Seven Kingdoms enchanted the soldiers of Naophulax Aion with a protective magick, a magick that would negate that of the serpent cults' and continually remind the soldiers of their purpose (a secondary precaution against illusions). This magic took the form of an oath of allegence to the King and his cause. It is not known if the hereditary nature of this magic was intended or only an accident, but in either case, it was found that the children of the soldiers of Naophulax Aion carried the same resistance to the illusion magicks, as well as the drive to fulfill the king's edict. With the breaking of the world, our order was lost. We passed into history. Those individuals who survived to carry on the magick, were scattered to the winds. Millennia passed, the blood thinned. Within recent generations some have awoken and felt an odd burning in their veins. A drive to do that which they cannot seem to recall, only to fall back asleep and have the sensation gone upon reawakening. Fewer yet of us do not forget in the morning. It is beginning, the magick is reawakening. We believe it a reaction to two possibilities: One, the awakening of Acheron and the reemergence of the serpent cults, or two...we have heard rumors that some seers believe the king of Aquilonia, King Conan, is the reincarnation of a great king from the past. We tend to subscribe to the first explanation, but... =Who we are= Naophulax Aion is a Roleplaying guild in the RP-PvP server Cimmeria in Age of Conan. The guild is built upon the premise that Age of Conan is one of, if not the first, game to support a style of play that encouraged building social constructs versus playing for the individual. AoC's FFA gameplay allows for guilds and alliances to police themselves, unlike many earlier games which did not allow factions to fight within themselves. This lack of social content "empowered" immature and immoral behavior and unfortunately developed into the gaming style many people who play MMO's (including AoC) enjoy today. We, however, realize that decency and community need not end at ones input device and we do not have to play in this manner, and can step up...out of Online Community infancy...as we take these first steps and attempt a true social construct in the fantasy world of Hyboria. Based loosely upon ancient Greek societies, Naophulax Aion has structure for legislative as well as judicial functions. The executive system is composed, in true Greek manner (or PvP), the entire guild. Members of the guild have both a social rank, and a military rank. Military Rank is determined by invitation from the chain of command and ratified by the Ekklesia (Assembly); social rank is determined purely by level and function, with inclusion into "full" membership being automatic upon reaching level 40 and choosing a single item that you will craft with excellence for the guild (society) as needed. =FAQ= Why the Greek basis? Well, many of the other guilds in the game are taking a Roman approach in their structure and using Latin in their guild names. Our RP story says that we are from an earlier time, from a now non-existent kingdom called Valusia. We are the remnants of a military unit that survived from that kingdom. So, we were trying to think of a civilization that existed before the Roman Empire to use as our model...and we being westerners thought Ancient Greece was the most obvious (and one that can still be recognized), and the warrior citizen model of Sparta in particular (although we ended up borrowing more ideas from the ancient Athenian culture) was fitting for Hyborea and a PvP server. What is your PvP stance? We are on a PvP server, however we try not to kill randomly. I guess we are RP'ing being the "good guys"...I know some will say it is a cliche, but actually, in my opinion it is harder to do, and less of a cliche than being the "bad guys" as a means to justify doing whatever whenever one wants. So, we will not kick people off resource nodes, nor will we chase people from grinding spots. If someone was there first, we hold no claim to that piece of land, nor do we feel the need to be tyrannical. Our members are welcome to join those already there if it is acceptable to them, but we are patient, we play to enjoy the game and have no qualms with returning later. That being said, we are on a PvP server, and we have an aggressive goal. We are a military unit designed to hunt down any who claim to be part of Acheron (or supporting them) in the game and we see no RP distinction between PvE or PvP. We will defend ourselves from NPC's and PC's without distinction. QQ tells will not come from on of our members, and if it does, will then we have an internal court system that we are not afraid to use to handle that. RP-wise, the guild seems to be against Acheron and any who practice human blood sacrifice. Can you and/or how do you justify allowing ToS's (or any other Set based class) in your guild? Ah, good question...actually we can justify it because in our RP story, we all have common ancestory...our ancestors many, many centuries back were part of a military unit tasked with fighting Acheron. When the cataclysm occured, the old lands sank beneath the sea including Valusia and the survivors where scattered. It is not unbelievable to think that some if not many went on to have children with whatever peoples they ended up with, be they pre-Stygians, Picts, pre-Aquilonians or pre-Cimmerians. Spin the clock forward to "modern day" Hyborea, and these decendants would be living normal lives in these different societies, learning the arts of those societies (including the religious arts). Once the magick that the character's ancestor was bound with begins awakening, it then becomes a question of whether the oath that remains in their thinned blood can overcome that of their culture...*laugh* sort of a nature vs. nurture question. It is debatable whether Set would require a ToS to give periodic human sacrifices in exchange for sharing of power, or if the knowledge learned in the past is enough to allow one to continue using those abilities. *shrug* As for Picts, well we do not have any yet, but we would welcome them. Many of the Kull books have the Picts fighting along side Kull's Valusian military forces. It is not unbelievable that friends would have been made and when Valusia sank, members of Naophulax Aion were stuck with whomever they were with at the time, or saught out those Pictish friends they had made. Who is on your KOS list? Well, we are pretty small at the moment, so we are biding our time, rebuilding our resources. I actually think KOS lists are a bit absurd, it sort of fits into our RP policy about no distinction between PC's and NPC's...no one would add an NPC to a KOS list, so why PC's? Also, although we RP that our characters do not want to die needlessly, we do understand that in reality there are no penalties for dieing, if it happens (via NPC or PC), don't let anyone wreck your game, drive on and have fun. So now, as I lay the groundwork for the guild we have no guild KOS list and we highly discourage the keeping of personal KOS lists. However, if in the future the guild decides to have one, I will continue to voice my opinion and play as a member of the society. What is your RP policy? We are trying to be high RP, which for us means all spacial channels are full time RP. Tells, Guild chat and party chat are optional, just due to the inability to justify why/how they should be RP. All official business of the guild, ranging from the courts, politics, legislation and whatever rituals evolve in our community (in forums and in game) should be fully in-character. Once again, that said...we do want to be a fun community. OOC in IC channels is actually a punishable offense in our courts, but we try for retribution to those offended before any form of exile. In the case of someone convicted of "scaring the polis with their irrational chatter and speaking in tongues" we have found that the best cure and best way to give repay those scared citizens is a few hours work under the sun, away from alcohol or other mind altering substances...we would probably require you to harvest a certain amount of resources and donate them to the guild. Anyways, since this is all "official guild business" it is suppose to be all handled IC, giving all of us that many more opportunities to RP. How does your ranking structure work? Each person has two ranks, a military one and a social one. The social rank is easy, everyone under level 40 is a Perioeci which means they can participate in the Areios Pagos (court systems, meaning they have a juror vote), and they can present ideas or petitions to the Ekklesia (which is the legislature). Once a character reaches level 40 and has chosen a single item they will craft for the guild, then they will be promoted to the rank of Homoioi (no, no idea on how to pronounce that *laugh*). Homoioi have the right to vote in the Areios Pagos as well as in the Ekklesia. They are also eligible to be elected to one of the Archons. Archons are elected "guild leaders" and the number that exist will depend on our need. Archons can answer any questions or make any decisions that are thought too trivial to bring to the Ekklesia, they are just a reference and admin for the guild. Military Ranks are handled appropriately within each dedicated prebuilt unit with Ekklesia approval needed only for a few higher military ranks. Those members who do not want to join a prebuilt military unit are called Helots and do not hold military rank, they are instead used to fill any incomplete military units when a need to mobilize arises. I want to revise what I just said...Helots can hold one military rank, the rank of Ephoroi. This rank is just as much an award as a rank...it is bestowed by the Ekklesia in recognition of superior PvP skills, especially in leadership. Ephoroi are the only Helots who can fill missing leadership spots when we mobilize.